


The Princess and the Pauper

by WritersWhim



Category: Fire Emblem, fire emblem path of radiance, fire emblem radiant dawn
Genre: F/M, Marriage, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-13
Updated: 2017-09-13
Packaged: 2019-02-09 09:49:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12885300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritersWhim/pseuds/WritersWhim
Summary: Ike was always in love with Elincia, but it took him too long to realize it. Now it's too late.





	The Princess and the Pauper

His heart was breaking. He watched as the bride was carefully looked over to make sure she was immaculate. Quite frankly, Ike didn’t understand the fuss; he thought Elincia was already perfect. She smiled over to her guardian, a light blush dusting her cheeks. Ike smiled back, but it wavered once she turned her head away. 

Elincia dismissed the maidens scrutinizing her wedding dress. They bowed to their queen before taking their leave. Ike turned to follow after them but stopped when a gentle hand reached for his arm.

“Stay,” she whispered. Ike couldn’t refuse. 

He was guided over to a luxurious chaise where he sat down. The material felt foreign to him. Such exquisite furniture always did. It always made him question why then he always longed for the touch of the woman before him.

“You don’t hide your emotion very well. You tend to display what you think upon your face. What bothers you?”

Ike hesitated. “I was thinking about the future.”

“What of it?”

“Everything has happened so quickly, I’m not all sure I’m ready to move on.”

Elinica smiled gently and sat next to him. Ike frowned. He knew that if the handmaids found out she sat after all their grooming, they’d throw a fit. Elincia laid her head on his shoulder. His heart skipped a beat, and he was tempted to lay a kiss on her forehead. Instead, he lowered his head and looked at his hands.

His hands had gotten tougher over the years. Using weapons took their toll on them. Faded blisters and callouses made his hands look much older than they were. He thought that it might be a good idea to purchase some leather gloves to help the marks from scarring his hands. He dismissed the thought seconds after. If he wore gloves, he wouldn’t be able to connect with the weapon he held. Elincia placed her hand on top his.

“You don’t need to fear the future, Ike. In fact, if anything, you should be the one to embrace it the most. You are the one who saved us all, remember?” Elincia paused. 

“Your father would be proud of you.”

“Yeah… He would.” Elincia laced her fingers with Ike’s and squeezed his hand. Ike rubbed his thumb against her hand in turn.

“How are Mist and Boyd?”

“Doing well,” Ike responded. “They send their apologies that they couldn’t make it to the wedding.”

Elincia nodded absentmindedly. “I heard that she’s had her second child recently. How has she been doing?”

“Quite well. Mist had a baby girl. They named her after our mother. Her son, Greil, is rather fond of his baby sister. I think Boyd is very fond of his daughter already too.”

“They make a nice family.”

“Yeah, they do.” A silence fell between the two. Ike continued to rub his thumb against Elincia’s hand and Elincia would squeeze his ever so often. Her hand felt so small in his. He briefly wondered what it would be like for other small hands to hold onto his. A knock on the door echoed through the room. Elincia raised her head and pulled her hand away. Ike turned his head to face the door. After a moment, Renning entered the room, bowing his head towards his niece.

“My dear, it’s about time for the wedding to start. I’m afraid if we keep Geoffrey waiting he might well break.”

Elincia chuckled. “I’ll be there in a moment, Uncle Renning. I would like to say goodbye to Ike before he leaves.”

Renning bowed his head. “As you wish. I will be waiting outside the door to escort you.” He smiled warmly. “To think that I’d get the chance to walk my dear niece down the aisle of her wedding.” A tear formed in the corner of his eye. “If only your father could be here.”

“He is here, Uncle Renning. He’s here in our hearts. So long as we remember him fondly, he is never truly gone.”

“I suppose so,” Renning mused. “Don’t take too long, my dear.” With that, Renning softly closed the door behind him.

Elincia turned to Ike. “You still plan to leave, yes?” Ike nodded. “I can’t believe you’re leaving Tellius. Be sure to write about your adventures. I want to hear all about them.”

Ike smiled. “I’ll do my best to, though I can’t say I’m a very good writer. I speak better with my sword than I do with a pen.” Ike paused, looked at Elincia and bowed.

“Ike? Ike! What are you doing?”

“I’m bowing to my queen before I leave for my adventure.”

“No. No-stand up! You of all people are not allowed to bow before me. I am your friend before your queen. To you, I am Elincia, not Queen Elincia.”

Ike stood. “Elincia…” His heart clenched at the words. He stood, but when he reached his full height, Elincia grasped him into a tight embrace.

“Are you sure you have to leave?” Ike wrapped his arms around her. “I know that you, Soren, and Ranulf are looking for another adventure, but couldn’t you have another adventure here in Tellius? Here in Crimea?”

“The voyage has already been paid for.” Ike joked. Elincia pulled away, pouting slightly. “Besides, you’re about to have an adventure of your own here and Geoffrey will be at your side.”

“I know. I’m just going to miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too, Elincia.” The two came back together for another hug, neither one seemingly wanting to let go of the other. Renning knocked on the door again to let the two know that they needed to hurry. They parted, and Ike walked Elincia to the door.

“Take care of her, Sir Renning.”

Renning placed an arm on Ike’s shoulder. “Safe travels, my boy.” He offered Elincia his arm, and the two walked off towards the wedding. Ike watched as the two departed, the wedding bells chiming as the Queen walked onto the aisle. He turned around and made his way to the back of the castle where Soren and Ranulf were waiting. Soren was flipping through pages of one of his tomes while Ranulf had taken to watching the scenery while leaning against the wall. Soren closed his time when Ike approached.

“Have you said your goodbyes?” Ike nodded. Soren pondered for a moment. “Are you sure you wish to leave now? The ship’s captain said we can leave at any time, so long as it was before tomorrow evening.” Ike nodded again. “Very well then. Then we make for the harbor. Are you ready, Ranulf?”

One of Ranulf’s ears twitched. “Does Elincia know?”

Ike and Soren looked quizzically at Ranulf. “She knows about our journey, yes.” Soren responded.

Ranulf shook his head. “Not that. But has she figured out she’s with child?” The church bells chimed loudly, signifying that the couple was happily wed. Soren and Ike were taken aback. “I’ll take that as a no then.”

“We should get going,” Ike murmured. He stepped forward and began making his way to the port, only vaguely listening as Soren asked how Ranulf knew. Something about laguz instinct and how you could practically smell the change. They moved soon moved on to reminiscing about old adventures together, then arguing over how events really happened, and the expectations of the future to come. Ike noted that they were careful to not mention him or Elincia. Momentarily, Ike was relieved that they omitted those details, but it also sent a pang through his heart. His heart yearned to run back, stay in Crimea with his friends, his family, his loved ones. But he had made his choice. The world was moving on and he couldn’t be stuck in the past. So he decided to see what the world would offer him. And even if the world offered him all he could ever want and more, he could not love it like he did his dear Elincia.

**Author's Note:**

> So a friend of mine requested I write something some time ago and now here it is! I'm not going to lie, I really wanted to cry towards the end. Just give me Ike/Elincia, damnit!


End file.
